(O)- Its really Bramble on steroids. So much jam-like flavors in this that it is actually almost too much. Looking back I might prefer Bramble to this. This is still excellent, but Bramble had a bit more layers to it than just mountains of fruit with the stout base.

Got this one from Masterski this past summer. Cheers for the beers man!

From a bomber into a snifter
Bottled 10 November 2013
Bottle 0950
BCBS with mulberries, boysenberries, marionberries and aged in rye barrels

APPEARANCE: Clear dark brown pour yields a two finger, looser, fizzy, light mocha head with lousy retention. Head quickly fades to a ring and slight splotchy wisp. Fizzy and loose. Black body with no carbonation evident. Ring quickly vanishes and looks rather flat by the end of the glass. Like all the variants, this is a below average looking imperial stout.

SMELL: Red berries up front with some whisky, oak, fruity aromas, sweet cream and vanilla from the barrels. Good stuff, while the fruit is very nicely balanced with the barrel aromas.

TASTE: Lots of fruity flavors with red berries and whisky flavors up front, then a good dose of whisky, oak, and alcohol at the swallow. Bold and lingering finish of oak, whisky, vanilla and sweet cream, milk chocolate and some faint sweet fruits as well. Quite boozy with lots of barrel and whisky as well as fruity sweetness. In that sense, this is rather well balanced, though too hot, unfortunately.

PALATE: Like the other variants in this series. Thinner body and higher levels of carbonation. Creamy enough on the palate, a touch prickly, unfortunately, goes down fine and finishes rather sticky. Lot so heat lingers. Needs to be thicker, heavier and creamier for sure.

OVERALL: This is a solid brew. Liked the fruit addition and it worked really well with the whisky and boozy flavors in this one. Like all these Bourbon County variants, however, this one falls short in the look and is far too thin, hot and abrasive in the feel. Curbing the heat and beefing up the feel would do a world of good for this brew, not to mention engineering a more appropriate head for such a big brew. Good stuff, but like this entire series, falls far from the pedestal on which is has been placed. Thanks again hotpipes. Always fun swapping brews man.

This is good, but not like jizz my pants good. Its VERY sweet, and the berry character is SUPER powerful; totally overwhelms any appreciable rye barrel charecter. Impressed its held up so well. My GF LOVED this, and she can barely finish half a glass of BCBCS. So pick your poison. Glad we drank it, but my god thats alot of berries man.

Bomber poured into a matching BCBS snifter. The brew appears black in color with a minimal amount of dark brown head that is wuick to fade.

The aroma includes roast and earth with plenty berry alcohol notes. A slight cheesiness and faint medicinal feel breathes away with whiskey becoming increasingly noticeable as it warms up.

The taste is bitter chocolate roast and earth with a lot of berry character almost to the point of being tart with a real raspberry feel. However, a candy sweetness somewhat medicinal is present blending to caramel/vanilla barrel flavors in the finish.

This is medium bodied and modestly carbonated. This brew is effortlessly drinkable and I cant fathom how many pounds of berries it would take to make this much of an impact in a beer this big. Great stuff.

Aged this 2 years (from 2013-2015) and had it alongside a steak. Great aroma (smelled strongly of fruit) and very smooth going down. There was a strong aftertaste of fruit, so it tasted like one of those chocolates with raspberry jam in the center. I could not really taste the bourbon (which I generally dislike.) Great beer!

Aged almost exactly 2 years. The beer has a reddish tint to it. And it smells amazing! It smells very strong of berries. Hands down one of the best smelling beers. The berry taste is great, but very overwhelming. I cannot taste any bourbon or rye personally. If you are a fan of berry stouts, you'll love this. They say you can age it up to five years, and I wish I had another one to try in a few years.

Saved this for a special occasion and what day would be more special than when the Blackhawks won! Cracked open the beer while we waited for the Stanley Cup to arrive. Poured thick black, just like regular Bourbon County. Has that bourbon chocolate aroma that BCS has. Was sort of afraid to have a big stout with fruit, but this one is good. Very jammy tasting. Still get tons of chocolate and bourbon, but that berry jam taste is right up there. If you haven’t had it, I’d say try and trade for a bottle. It’s worth it.

wow! i might even like this one better than the coffee edition, which until now i think was my favorite bourbon county release. this is insane beer, thick and sludgy looking like the others, and retaining that slick jelly feel, as viscous as almost any beer out there. the flavors here though are so much more complex, way more layered, and frankly just more appealing than the coffee overload, although i love that beer too. the rye whiskey is different than the bourbon in a lot of ways. there is a more textured grain element to it, and deeper wood notes in this example. it gives even more weight to the grain bill of this, and lets the semi harsh rye spice linger. the wood though mellows it all down, even the booze, to really tolerable levels. the berries in this are subtle at first, but come out a whole lot more as the beer warms up. i get an almost purple grape thing, but i suppose the mulberry is the dominant of the three. the dark fruit seems tangy, and nice contrast to the inherent sweetness of the big stout, and an uplifting sensation for such a heavy beer. it doesnt sound all that different, but this is an order of magnitude better than the cherry rye edition, and feels extremely special to me as i sip on it. palate coating and huge, but impossibly well refined. this is the final evolution of bourbon county as far as i am concerned (still havent had the proprietors though...). unforgettable beer.

S - Strawberry pop-tarts. Berry dominates the nose. You get hints of chocolate and bourbon.

T - Wow. Mixed berry cobbler with a chocolate, but not bitter finish. Deep rich berry flavor that isn't tart or artificial at all. The bourbon gives it another layer of sweetness that is different. Very delicious.

M - I would have liked it to be thicker but it was ok. Not thin by any means.

O - Best variant I've had and best fruit stout ive ever had. This beer drinks incredible right now.